The only pathway to board certification through the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) is the computer-administered Psychiatry Certification examination. But how can you best prepare for the psychiatry boards? By testing your knowledge with practice board questions, you will see where you stand as you study.
Below are 6 sample psychiatry board exam questions from the BoardVitals Psychiatry Board Review Question Bank that will provide you a proper gauge as to how well you’re prepared. Good luck!
How’d you do? Even if you got all 6 questions correct, practice makes perfect, and you can never be too prepared. We suggest using question banks to reinforce concepts and engage with simulated test conditions, specifically the Psychiatry Board Review Question Bank, which is tailored to the ABPN Psychiatry exam content outline.
The Psychiatry Certification Examination is comprised of 425 questions — it’s a hefty exam that should not be underestimated and is definitely worth investing in the best study tools available. The exam conforms to a two dimensional content specification as follows:
Dimension 1: Psychiatric Disorders and Topics
- Developmental processes and development through the life cycle 2-4%
- Disorders usually first diagnosed in infancy, childhood, or adolescence (Neurodevelopmental disorders) 3-5%
- Substance-related and addictive disorders 7-11%
- Schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders 8-12%
- Depressive disorders 8-12%
- Bipolar and related disorders 4-6%
- Anxiety disorders 7-9%
- Obsessive-compulsive and related disorders 2-4%
- Trauma- and stressor-related disorders 4-6%
- Dissociative disorders 1-2%
- Somatic symptom and related disorders 2-4%
- Eating disorders 2-4%
- Elimination disorders 1-2%
- Sleep-wake disorders 3-5%
- Sexual dysfunctions 1-3%
- Gender dysphoria 1-2%
- Disruptive, impulse-control, and conduct disorders 1-3%
- Personality disorders 5-7%
- Paraphilic disorders 1-2%
- Other conditions that may be a focus of clinical attention 1-3%
- Neurocognitive disorders 6-8%
- Neurologic disorders 4-6%
- Dimension 2 topics without a corresponding Dimension 1 topic 4-6%
Dimension 2: Physician Competencies and Mechanisms
- Neuroscience and mechanisms of disease 17-23%
- Behavioral and social sciences 4-6%
- Clinical aspects of psychiatric and neuropsychiatric disorders 17-23%
- Diagnostic procedures 8-12%
- Treatment 25-35%
- Interpersonal and communication skills 2-4%
- Professionalism, ethics, and the law 3-5%
- Practice-based learning and improvement 3-5%
- Systems-based practice 3-5%
Please refer to the ABPN Certification Examination in Psychiatry Content Blueprint for a more detailed breakdown.
Looking for more sample psychiatry board exam questions? The BoardVitals Psychiatry Question Bank includes more than 1,450 psychiatry review questions tailored to the ABPN blueprint. Sign up for a free BoardVitals trial today, and save 10% on your question bank purchase when you use promo code QUIZ10 at checkout.
